The Million
by Agent Striker
Summary: The summer of 1968 was one that Jonathan Hart will never forget. Good things happened, bad things changed his life as well as others along the way. Running into an old friend stirs up a lot of pleasant memories, along with some not so pleasant ones. FIRST H2H fic
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, so this is my first attempt at **_**Hart to Hart**_** fanfiction…I haven't seen all of the episodes, so don't be too harsh. If there are any glaring errors, in grammar or information, please, feel free to IGNRORE them. Consider this a un-betaed, slightly AU story. **

**Oh, and don't expect super regular updates…or long ones like this.**

**Thanks, **

**The Management AKA Agent Striker**

* * *

_The summer of 1968 was hot and dry. The heat wasn't unusual for California, but the raging drought had farmers up and down the state worried. But the drought didn't really play a huge roll in the story that would unfold that summer on a successful Thoroughbred farm in the southern part of the state. _

_Three people, a runaway, a trust fund baby, and a man with a head for business, spent ninety-one and a half summer days together on that farm, or 'The Ranch' as they called it. Of course, there were a lot more than three people that came and went on the farm, not to mention the seventy some horses, but this trio formed quite a bond. _

_Two fell in love. One was trusted with a secret so great, it ate at his soul until he shared it. All three grew in more ways than imaginable that summer. When a disaster split them on the final day of August, a sunny Saturday, they would carry the memories wherever they went._

_One rose from nothing to a man of power and wealth, but remained solid and humble. The other man spent the rest of that year and much of the next searching for the runaway, but returned home the prodigal son. He kept in touch with the successful one, and they both seemingly moved on. But neither forgot the little runaway. The runaway with the voice of an angle and a talent for verse was the only one who didn't make it anywhere in the world. _

_Years later, eleven to be precise, these people came back together, bringing their new lives…ones that revolved around that summer in surprising ways. _

_It started with the runaway, Penny was her name, literally running into the beautiful wife of the man with the head for business. _

* * *

"Oh geeze, I am so sorry!" The lean, blonde haired, green-eyed woman said in horror as she bent to help the red head she had knocked to the ground up.

With a smile worthy of royalty, the red head dusted off her clothes and stood without assistance, "It's my fault, I wasn't watching where I was going."

From behind thick, black-rimmed glasses, the blonde carefully took in the other woman. Dressed in a simple, but classy and expensive skirt with a bright white blouse, it was obvious she wasn't just some tourist who stopped to look around the barn. "You're one of the people interested in investing in the barn, aren't you?"

"Actually, yes. My husband and I-"

The other woman cut off the finely dressed one, "Oh man, I am _so _sorry. If my boss finds out I bowled over an investor, I'll be deader than a doornail. Is there anyway that that you _won't _say anything?"

"Oh, there's nothing to tell. I'm fine, I don't see any reason why he would have to know."

Letting out a deep breath, the blonde grinned, revealing two dimples, "Thanks so much. This job is all I got," she looked past the redhead's shoulder, "And speak of the devil, here he comes. I'd better get going."

Spinning, the woman jogged down the hall and out of sight. Watching her leave, Jennifer Hart's journalist side wanted to follow and question the woman further. Long and lean, her long blonde hair was tied back from her face and what was left of a tattered t-shirt turned tank top (which didn't cover very much), showed off her tanned, muscular arms (and her red bra) and a spider-web like scar on her right shoulder. Long legs clad in faded jeans, she was entirely too tall to be a jockey, so she must have been a barn hand. Considering everyone else she'd met that worked at Levi Lawton's ranch was of Hispanic decent, it was an interesting sight.

Shrugging, she turned back to the approaching figures of her husband and Levi Lawton himself.

"-gonna have close to thirty foals on the ground by this time next year. That's a twenty percent increase from last year. We're a quickly growing establishment."

Jonathan Hart nodded, "And you're mostly involved with the racing industry?"

Lawton nodded, "Yep. We do have a small herd of Western Pleasure Quarter Horses, too. Our goal is to be proficient in both the Thoroughbredand Quarter Horse worlds."

"That's an interesting combination," Jonathan commented as he took in the clean straw smell of the barn.

Levi launched into a long, drawn out explanation that basically said that he liked Quarter Horses _and_ Thoroughbreds, but neither of the Harts were really listening.

Jennifer was thinking that the ranch was very…well, ranch like. It had the sturdy white wood fences that camouflaged the electric fence surrounding the seemingly endless green pastures, which she assumed were irrigated, and the barn was square and red. The horses grazed tranquilly or loped gently in groups of three or four, painting an idyllic picture. Behind the log ranch house where the help slept was a brand new, two-mile track in dirt with a mile-and-a-half grass track inside of it. Everything was spick-and-span and running perfectly. She liked the farm a lot, she could see it would make a good investment.

Jonathan on the other hand, was lost in a memory of a farm that could have been this one's twin. All that was missing was the sound of the radio and a voice singing along with every song…

_A loud, pulsing rock song blared out of the radio as a younger Jonathan Hart strolled down the cool aisle of a barn, just out of the throbbing heat of the California sun. _

"_Hello?" he called out. Getting no reply, he yelled louder, "Hello? Is anybody here?"_

_A voice directly behind him speaks, startling him, "Why ya' yelling, I'm right here."_

_Spinning around, Jonathan comes face to face with a young teenaged girl with thick glasses that accentuated her green eyes. Her blonde hair was long, nearly to her waist even with it tied up in a ponytail. Dressed in a snug tank top that showed off her non-existent curves and worn English riding breeches, she was drenched in sweat with bits of hay sticking out of her hair…and she didn't smell overly pleasant. _

"_What?" The girl's irritated voice cut through his inspection and he realized he was staring. _

"_Oh, sorry. My name is Jonathan Hart. I was wondering if there was anyone I could speak to about getting a job."_

_The girl was studying him now, looking at his worn button-down, jeans, boots, and unshaved face. He had a small duffle bag holding all of his worldly positions but nothing else. "Why do you want a job _here_? Let me tell you, the pay sucks."_

_Jonathan shrugged, "I need the money and this seemed like the best option."_

_The girl thought for a minute, "Since the only other job in this metropolis is in the _thriving_ garbage collection industry, you're probably right. Go up to the house and see Joe. He'll find something for ya' to do."_

_A smile stretched across his handsome face, "Thanks. What'd you say your name was again?"_

"_I didn't," she snapped. But she glanced at his face and reneged with a deep sigh, "But it's Penny."_

_Still smiling, Jonathan mock saluted her and turned towards the house, "Just what I need, a lucky Penny."_

_He didn't know why then, but she had started to laugh, long and hard, almost mocking him. Turning away, she muttered something that he didn't quite catch, but sounded like she said she wasn't any sort of lucky. _

Odd, _he thought, _wonder what her story is.

* * *

Half an hour later, the couple bid goodbye to the chatty Levi Lawton and ambled back towards their car in the late afternoon sunshine. "So what do you think?" Jennifer asked, looping her arm through her husband's, who seemed to be lost in thought.

"Hmm? Sorry darling, I didn't catch what you said."

Stopping, Jennifer looked closely at Jonathan's face, "Are you feeling all right? You haven't been acting yourself all afternoon."

Bighting up, more for Jennifer's benefit, he smiled his wide, slow smile, "This place just reminded me of something."

"What?"

Tugging on her arm, Jonathan began to walk towards the car again, "Did I ever tell you about the summer of '68?"

Jennifer shook her head, "No, what about it?"

Smiling wistfully, Jonathan stopped to survey the fields of horses, "It was right before I started the company…

_Working part time in Santa Ana after leaving the Navy was not nearly as lucrative as Jonathan Hart had hoped it would be. He was working his way up to his monetary goal, along with some help from a good friend; he was only four hundred dollars from his mark. _

_But waiting tables would take him the rest of the summer _and _fall to make that much money. So he'd come up with a plan, one that seemed fool proof. He would take four hundred dollars of his savings and drive the seventy odd miles to Del Mar Race Track and play the ponies. _

_It seemed _so _fool proof, he'd been listening to his friend Max talk about betting for eons. It would be easy enough to find a good horse and double his money. He quit his job; gathered up his money, his meager positions and lit off for Del Mar on the eight thirty bus. _

_It was the first race of the season, right at the end of May. The weather couldn't have been more perfect, clear bright blue skies, fast track, and a slight breeze. Deciding to play it safe for the first set of the races, Jonathan bet fifty dollars on the horse with the best odds. _

_It paid off, he _did _double his money. The next four races however, didn't go nearly as well. He ended up loosing it all. Five hundred and fifty dollars lost. Instead of being four hundred dollars from his goal, he was now nine hundred and fifty dollars away. _

_Head in his hands, he sat on the curb next to his bag, castigating himself for his own greed. If he'd just taken extra tips or gotten another job, he wouldn't be in this mess. _What is wrong with me? _he'd asked himself. _I've really screwed up this time.

_He couldn't borrow any more money, his pride wouldn't allow it and nobody's pockets were deep enough to help him out of this jam. The wind picked up then, bringing along with it dark storm clouds and a forgotten map. _

_Stuffing the map into his pocket, Jonathan started towards the highway in hopes of getting a ride. As luck would have it, an older gentleman on his way to a small town by the name of Tippin picked him up._

_After giving the man a shortened version of his plight, the man nodded sympathetically. "Been in tight places like that myself. Maybe I can help you find a job."_

"_Really?"_

_The man nodded, "There's a Thoroughbred farm on the outskirts of town, they're always looking for hardworking men around this time of year. The summer is always busy; I'm sure they'll take you. I'll drop you off right at the gate, I drive right past."_

_And that's how Jonathan Hart ended up at The Double S Ranch the summer of '68. _

* * *

"You never told me you worked at a Thoroughbred farm!" Jennifer said in surprise after he finished his story.

Jonathan shrugged, frowning again, "It's kind of a bittersweet memory…that summer didn't end well."

The look on her husband's face told Jennifer not to press the subject any further. The two stood next to their car in silence for a few minutes before Jonathan spoke again, "That's how I met Ted, you know."

"Ted Maslow?" Jennifer asked in surprise.

Smiling, Jonathan nodded, "You wouldn't have liked him back then, he was truly a spoiled, daredevil of a trust fund baby."

It was hard to image the gentle, intelligent Theodore P. Maslow III as being a daredevil, spoiled, or a baby. At thirty-one, he was one of the kindest people she knew, also one of the least likely to flaunt his wealth, "Really?"

"Oh yeah. He was a handful. But Penny put him in his place pretty quickly."

"Who's Penny?"

"She worked at the barn and lived on the top bunk in our room. Very musical. She could drum up a song, music and all, without being able to read or write a note of music."

The sadness was back in his eyes as he spoke about Penny. Gently, Jennifer probed a little deeper, "What happened to Penny?"

"I don't know. She- wait, what's that?" Jonathan's head swiveled around towards one of the smaller barns.

Jennifer paused to listen, "Sounds like a radio."

"I know that song," Jonathan said slowly, following the sound of the voice.

"Darling-"

"You do hear it, right?" Jonathan asked, pausing to wait for his wife.

"Yes, I hear it. Jonathan, what is the matter?"

But he wasn't listening any more, he was following the voice. Because it wasn't a radio playing, it was someone singing.

"_So I labor for hours 'cause I know the power,_

_Of a song when a song hits you right,"_

It was like a memory coming back to life. Pushing the door open softly, he followed the voice as it grew louder.

_"Pouring my soul into stories of life,  
Hoping someone'll hear one tonight,"_

At the end of the barn, the same blonde haired woman Jennifer had truly run into was cleaning wet, foul, straw from one of the stalls, making it look effortless. She kept singing, unaware that she was being observed by one confused person and one that couldn't believe his eyes.

_"Maybe my voice will cut through the noise,  
And stir up an old memory,_

_And out of these piano keys, _

_Comes the sound, the sound of a million dreams."_

"Penny?"

Spinning around, the woman audibly gasped when her eyes found Jonathan Hart's face in the semi-darkness of the barn. She stood transfixed and speechless as Jonathan took a few steps closer.

Across one cheek was a smudge of dirt, and it was almost like the last time he saw her.

_The small motel room in town that they were staying at was dark and still reeked of the smoke from the fire. Jonathan lay stretched out on one of the small double beds, Ted on the other, and Penny was sleeping in the bathtub for some unknown reason. He had nearly dozed off when the sound of the door to the hallway opening startled him. _

_He sat up just in time to catch a glimpse of Penny slipping out to the hall. Sitting up quickly, he silently made his way across the room so as not to wake Ted, who was snoring lightly. _

_Once outside, he jogged to the stairwell just as Penny let the door close behind her. "Penny, Penny, wait! Where are you going?"_

_With her jacket slung over her uninjured shoulder and a twenty-dollar bill clasped in her hand, it looked like Penny hadn't planned on coming back. She stopped but didn't turn around to face Jonathan, "I'm leaving."_

"_Why?" Jonathan asked, stepping forward to put his hand out to her._

_Yanking away, Penny spun to face him, tears in her eyes and the soot from the fire still on her face. Her shirt was cut up to accommodate the bulky bandages and cast covering most of her shoulder and her left hand, and she was shaking. "I told you, it's all my fault! It's my fault they're all dead! If I hadn't-"_

"_Penny, it _was not _you fault," Jonathan said severely, "don't you dare think it was!"_

_The emotion drained from Penny's eyes, leaving emptiness behind that scared Jonathan, "If I hadn't run like I did, he would have come after me. Everything I told you about him and my life before was completely true. I have to stop him. No one else can."_

"_E, he's still your dad-"_

_Penny's hiss cut him off, "He may have fathered me, but he was no dad. He's a scum, bottom of the barrel. He promised that he'd kill me and take away every thing that I loved if he ever caught me. He kept his promise, now it's time I keep mine."_

_Jonathan shook his head sadly, "You didn't lose Ted. Or me."_

_She laughed sadly, "Thanks Jonny, that means a lot. But Ted doesn't give a damn about me. You're like a brother to me, but I have to do this."_

"_Ted loves you, and you know it."_

"_Lust and love are two different things."_

_Turning, Penny turned back towards the stairs, "Next time I see you, I'll pay you back, okay?"_

"_The money doesn't matter, E, _don't _do this," Jonathan begged, following the girl._

_She stopped and took a deep breath, "Jon, I need to go. I've got to go back home and stop my father from ever hurting anyone again. Then I've got to get my life started. You and 'Trust Fund Baby' need to do the same. He's got a home to go back to, with a family that loves him. You've got the whole world at your fingertips. I know you're gonna make it big," she paused and turned back to him for the last time, "Don't worry about me."_

_Then she was gone, running down the stairs and out the back exit into the sultry night. _

* * *

"Penny Coen?"

As if shaking herself from a dream, the woman laughed dazedly, "Jonny Hart, been awhile."

"Eleven years."

She nodded, unsure what to say next. Jennifer cleared her throat, "Penny, is it? So we run into each other again, this time more figuratively."

Jennifer's voice seemed to snap both Jonathan and Penny from their memories. "Penny, this is my wife, Jennifer. Jennifer, this is Penny, the girl I was telling you about."

Penny wiped her dirty hand on her jeans before extending it to Jennifer, "Nice to meet you."

"What are you doing here, E?" Jonathan asked, fighting the urge to pinch him self to make sure this was all real.

"This is where I work," Penny said, looking down at her worn boots. She looked back at Jonathan and shook her head, "Well, I told you that you were gonna be somebody. A real big somebody."

Jonathan laughed, "You were always right about things like that. How've you been, have you worked here long?"

"I'm doing okay. I just moved back to the LA area, I've only been working here for a few months," Penny replied.

Jonathan smiled, "And you didn't come see me? I'm hurt."

Penny shrugged, "I may have driven past your impressive office building…and went inside and poked around a bit…not that that's stalker-ish or anything."

As she talked, Penny grew more and more comfortable, the girl that Jonathan remembered.

"What time are you done with work?" He asked a few minutes later.

Glancing at her bare wrist, Penny screwed up her face, deep in mock thought, "Hmm, five o'clock I think. Why do you ask?"

"How would you like to come and have dinner at our house?" Jonathan asked, glancing at his wife for confirmation, "We can catch up."

Jennifer nodded, as did Penny who said, "That's really nice of you to offer, especially since the cupboards are bare. I'd need to go home and clean up of course…"

"So how does six sound?" Jonathan asked, still grinning.

"Awesome. I will be there with bells on," Penny looked at Jonathan again, shaking her head, "This is all so crazy, isn't it?"

Jonathan nodded, his face solemn, "I never thought that I'd ever see you again."

Penny's face lit up in an expressive smile, "I told you not to worry."

* * *

**Well there, first chapter! What do you think? Yay, nay, ehh. Review please!**

**~Striker**

**P.S. The song is not mine, nor was it around in 1968. It's **_**The Sound Of A Million Dreams **_**by David Nail. I liked it, so it is now in my story. But I own nothing. **

**~S**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello! I would like to thank **Chris **and **MaryFan1 **for reviewing and the other 37 readers who couldn't find it in your heart to review. I still love ya!**

**Also, I just wanna explain a bit of something. The 'case' per say is going to be sort of in the past and present…and more discussed than actually acted upon. I think that, most if not all, of the story will take place over one evening. **

**Y'all still in?**

* * *

When the Harts arrived back at their home, Jennifer disappeared to the kitchen to tell Max about the newly minted dinner plans while Jonathan disappeared to the master bedroom.

Walking to the back of his side of the row of closest, he bent to open the lowest drawer. Moving aside a couple of National Geographics and an empty, dented flask, he pulled out an old shoebox.

Closing the drawer as he brushed the layer of dust from the top, he stood and carried it back to the bedroom where he sat down on the bed with it still in his hands.

Taking a deep breath, he popped off the top and took a moment to look at everything. There wasn't much, just what he'd had in his pockets and a few other things that had survived the fire, but they held a lot of memories. Folded on the top was the failed racing form, he'd kept it as a deterrent to the urge to ever bet large sums of money on the ponies.

Moving the battered sheet of paper aside, he reached deep into the box and pulled out the remaining items. A chipped, battered red Swiss Army Knife, a shiny red Coke bottle cap, a receipt from Sadie's Diner, a set of keys to a 1939 Chevy Truck, and tucked at the bottom a letter…just looking at them brought back a flood of old memories…

_Mid August: Penny, hanging out of the top window of the hay mow in the barn, wind blowing her hair into her eyes while she attempted to cut away the piece of baling twine that was caught up in the hay elevator. And just when it seemed like she wasn't going to get it, the string snapped and the elevator flipped on again. Grinning like an idiot, she nearly tumbled to the ground, but Ted deftly grasped her ankles and pulled her back to safety, planting a kiss on her lips that Jonathan wasn't supposed to see. _

_The night of the Forth of July, 1968: The trio stretched out across the hood of the Chevy, watching the sky light up with a six-pack and the radio blaring. "Let's do something insane," Penny had said that morning, and what a day it had been._

_The night of the fire: Spreading the last bale of straw into the last stall, Ted wiped his hand across his forehead, "What about dinner at Sadie's? I'm not sure that I can take any of E's cooking."_

_Jonathan laughed, "Sounds good to me. What about you? E? Penny?"_

_She'd been staring out of the dusty stall window again, she'd been acting odd all day, "What?"_

"_Dinner in town. On me," Ted said slowly. _

_Glaring, Penny nodded and shoved her way past the two guys. _

_The first week of work: An ice cold Coke stuck under his nose, Jonathan jumped, "What's that for?" he asked suspiciously. _

_Penny rolled her eyes, "It's to drink. Don't they have Coke wherever you're from?"_

"_Why are you giving it to me?"_

" '_Cause you looked thirsty," stomping away, Jonathan shook his head in surprise. After the way she'd been working him all week, he hadn't thought there was a nice bone in that girl's body._

_Late July: The fireflies were just coming out, the sun sinking behind the mountains. Up on the roof, a trio sat with a bottle of Jack Daniels, wobbly playing Truth or Dare. "Truth or dare," Ted slurred, handing the bottle to Penny._

_She giggled, "Dare."_

_Ted shook his head, "You've done Dare the whole time! Do a truth!"_

_She shook her head, her lose hair covering her face, "Nope. Nope. Nope."_

"_Okay, I Dare you to do a Truth."_

_Obviously, Penny was drunk out of her mind, because she agreed. Ted thought for a moment, staring over Jonathan's shoulder blankly. Nodding to himself, he laid out his truth, "Tell us why you ran away."_

"_I didn't run away," Penny said, stubbornly._

_Jonathan cut in, "You told me you did."_

_She giggled, digging in her pants pocket of her keys, holding them up for the world to see, "I drove away silly. Took dear ol'e daddy's keys and two hundred dollars when he was passed out on the couch and just left."_

"_Why?" Ted persisted, his voice breaking into a whine._

_Penny's smiled faded, "I had enough. Of my mother and my father and that nasty little towns and the beatings and the hate and everything. No one wanted me there, so I left."_

_Even drunk, both men caught on to the 'beatings,' "They beat you?" Jonathan asked quietly._

_She shrugged, "My mother the hooker is doing time for manslaughter you know. She killed one of her boys. I used to pick their pockets when she was with 'em. Named me Penny 'cause that's all I'll ever be worth. Said she hated me, I ruined her life. But she's in prison. Pa hit hard. I left and I ain't going back, no matter what he said. He'd kill me, he said, but he's a liar," she sat for a second, "I don't feel so good. I'm going to bed."_

_After stumbling off the roof, she tucked herself into bed, leaving the two alone with the echo of her words. _

_The whole summer of '68 the rusty red 1939 Chevy sat in one of the back barns that were used for storage, only to be gotten out for special occasions. "I didn't exactly take it legally, plus it has a 'borrowed' license plate," Penny said with a grin when she fired up the old relic. _

_The night of the fire: the silent dinner at Sadie's. Penny and Ted were having some sort of fight and Jonathan was stuck in the middle. After Ted stomped out halfway through dinner, Jonathan was the one to pick up the tab. "Are you okay?" he'd asked Penny again._

_Her skinny arms were wrapped around her chest, "I think it's time I moved on. Something feels bad here. Something's wrong. Maybe it's time I start my world tour."_

_They walked in silence, one glad for the chance to memorize the landscape and one glad to stretch his legs after dinner, everything seemed okay until the first fire siren reached their ears. _

_During the fire: it was the most haunting of all the memories he carried from that summer. The look on Penny's face just before she stumbled into the burning barn. She was screaming illegibly, chasing a shadow into the fire. Running in after her, Jonathan just missed the flaming beam that struck her shoulder, pushing her down. It was probably the only thing that had stopped her from going further, saving her life. _

_He had dragged her out, ignoring her shrieks of pain and protest, "He's here! He's here!" she screamed, sobbing as the biggest barn collapsed on top of over fifteen horses. "He killed them!"_

_By the time the paramedics arrived and were located, Penny had settled down into a shocked stupor, watching the firemen fight the blaze. "It's gone," she whispered as the paramedics bandaged and cast her arm/shoulder, "Everything."_

_Ted showed up then, dirty and coughing. He stumbled to Penny and dropped to his knees in front of the edge of the ambulance where she sat, "My god, you're okay, I thought I'd lost you, oh Penny."_

_He reached to brush the hair from her face, but she shoved him away, "Everything's gone, the horses, the farm," she swallowed a sob, "And Manuel and Luz and Marco, they're dead and he killed them because of me. Everything's gone and it's all my fault."_

"_I'm here," Ted said softly, "You still have me."_

_That sent her over the edge. Kicking out, she screamed, "No, I don't! Don't you get it, I never _had _you! Just leave me alone!"_

_The look on Ted's face was a mixture of hurt, confusion, and anger tied all together with a broken heart. He stood abruptly and stalked away._

* * *

"Jonathan?" Jennifer's soft voice broke through Jonathan's daydream, and he looked up startled. "What's this?" she asked, sitting down next to him.

He was silent for a minute, trying to figure out how to explain. "Memories," he finally shrugged.

Jennifer nodded, looking at the mismatch collection of what really looked like junk. Noticing the letter still inside of the box, she pointed to it, "And that?"

Jonathan pulled it out of the box and wordlessly handed it to her. Carefully opening the worn pages, Jennifer read these words:

_Jonny-_

_Well, this is goodbye, and none of this 'until next time' crap. I have this feeling that we won't be seeing each other face-to-face again…I'll probably be reading about you in to society pages, but unless you read WANTED posters, you won't see me. _

_I can tell you're rolling you eyes, but it doesn't really matter at this point. There are things that I've done that I'm not proud of, downright ashamed, and I'm not done screwing up yet. There is one last thing I have to do before I can truly be free of my old life, and yes, I do vaguely remember my drunken confession I made to you and Teddy. _

_It's all true. _

_I've got to go and set things straight before I can move on, and it's something that I have to do alone. _

_There are a couple of things you can do for me though, call me sentimental if you must. My wish for you is that this life becomes all that you want to do, keep those dreams of yours big and the worries small. I hope you never look back but never forget where you've come from and who've you been. Always forgive and never forget, and help somebody every chance you get. Find God's grace in all your mistakes and give more than you take. Don't give up on love, you'll find _her _someday. _

_And please, keep an eye out for the Baby, he's gonna need you. Can I tell you something? Something you won't share with him? _

_I love him, I really do. _

_But I don't deserve him, no matter what he thinks he's done, he's a good man. And good is not something that I am. Keep him on the right track, okay?_

_Love Always, _

_Penny _

Jennifer read the letter twice, finishing it up with a mist in her eyes. Glancing at her husband, she wordlessly wrapped her arms around his waist. They sat that way until it was time to get ready for dinner.

* * *

Sitting on the floor of her cramped, but cozy apartment, Penny Coen looked at a similar letter that she kept tucked in wallet. She hadn't found it in her pocket until almost a week after she'd left Teddy and Jonny in that hotel room after the fire. It was a short little note, one that she'd cried over more nights than she cared to count. He'd written it days before the fire; he must have known she was going to leave.

_You won't be alone Penny, I'll be in every beat of your heart as you face the unknown. Come back when you've found yourself, no matter where you've been or what you've done, I'll always love you. _

_~Teddy _

She'd dared to hope for a moment then that he had loved, not lusted, her. That he'd changed and he was who he acted like. But in her heart, she'd known it wasn't true. She was just something new, a childish rebellion. He knew his family would disapprove of her poor little runaway status.

Shaking herself, she stood and headed to her closet to find something suitable to wear for dinner with the Harts. She wasn't going to let the dark memories get in the way of the happy ones.

* * *

**Well there, how was that? The two letters contain lines from 'My Wish' by Rascal Flatts and 'Never Alone' by Jim Brickman/Lady Antebellum. I wish I was that talented at writing!**

**Review please!**

**~Striker**


	3. Chapter 3

**Well, I suppose you all thought I had passed away. No, this is not so, I am simply a procrastinator. But the good news is that this is the last chapter! Yes, a nice little threesome tied up in a purty pink ribbon! Without a case…I kind of changed it all again….Thanks to my readers and reviewers:**

Guest

Chris

JWBA

rookie angel hart

**I totally love you guys!**

* * *

Before she went upstairs to see what Jonathan was up to after checking with Max, Jennifer Hart made a slight detour. Digging though the desk in the study, she pulled out her husband's address book, flipping to the 'M's for Maslow, Theodore P.

Dialing the number, she slipped the book back into the desk while the phone rang. At the time, she didn't have a clue of the profound effect this call was going to have on the life of two people; she simply wanted to reunite some old friends. Just as she was about to hang up, a breathless voice answered, "Hello?"

"Ted? This is Jennifer Hart, how are you?"

"Jennifer! Nice to hear from you, I'm doing great. How about yourself?"

After a few more minutes of small talk, Jennifer cleared her throat, "Ted, I called to invite you to dinner…Jonathan and I ran into an old friend of yours."

"I'd love to come, but I have plans tonight. But what friend are you talking about?"

"Penny Coen."

There was a sharp intake of breath, followed by several heartbeats of silence. The young man on the other end of the phone was flashing back eleven years to the girl who'd run away with his heart as surely as she'd just plain run away.

_Long, lanky Penny wrapping her arms around a tall, handsome youth with bright blue eyes and honey-brown hair. _

_The songs she sang, especially the ones she'd written herself…__** Admit it boy, you blew it, really messed it up/You can make excuses if you really wanna lose her/It's all on the line, do or die time/Getting' on your knees time/Lose your pride while you can/Come on man, be a man**_

_The first time he saw her, standing in the summer sun. Toe to toe with a horse three times her size, cheap sunglasses and a ball cap backwards, daring the horse to defy her._

_Her laugh, echoing across the barn and through his dreams. _

_The first time he kissed her, that day before the fireworks. Her soft, warm lips tasting of tangy sweat mixed with sweet lemonade._

_Her green eyes, so deep a person could get lost forever in them._

_The way she rode, his little cowgirl. She'd hated that, but she was. She was like an untamable Mustang, proud and wild to the end._

_Her attitude. _

_The way his name sounded on her lips._

_Her long-legged swagger._

_Even the way she adjusted her glasses when she was nervous_.

_How she'd screamed at him, that night beside the ambulance._

_How he'd know she was going to leave, how she had to run._

_The letters._

_Her everything._

"Penny?" he asked hoarsely, sitting down on the ornate chair next to the telephone.

"Penny," Jennifer nodded.

Running his hands through his hair, he gulped, "The earliest I can be there is seven. Don't let her leave, I _have_ to see her."

"It might be better that you come later," Jennifer agreed. From her tone, Ted knew that Jonathan had told her, most if not all, of what had happened that summer.

After saying their goodbyes and hanging up, Ted sat limply, his head spinning. Penny. God, how he'd loved that girl. _Loves_, he corrected himself. He'd never given up loving her. After she'd left and he'd sneaked a peak at the letter she left for Jonathan, he'd searched the state, hell the country, for her. Strings had been pulled, investigators called in, searches and dead ends piled up. It was like Penny had never existed.

Eventually, he'd slowed his search. His feelings hadn't changed, but Penny could always disappear if she truly wanted to. He had obligations, a stupid excuse, but after his father passed away and his mother's health declined, there was a business to run and his life had to move on.

Stumbling up the old, elaborately carved staircase, he pushed past the startled maid and nearly fell into his bed room. Dropping to his knees near the bed, he dug in the antique side table. Towards the back, tucked securely under the Bible, he pulled out a stack of papers and a lone photograph. The picture of Penny and him, dirty after work at the barn, but grinning arm and arm…he kept so he'd know that they were real. The top letter was still in its yellowed, creased envelope, but the others were just in a rambling stack.

It was Penny's song book, the one she'd had in their room, the one she'd probably thought had been lost in the fire. The binding had been damaged by the water and fire, a good chunk of the papers were gone and not all of them were legible, but they were what had kept him going all those years. Reading through them brought back another flash of memories…

_Penny, stretched out on her stomach, hair still damp from her shower in the bathroom at the end of hall, wearing a long t-shirt, with the notebook open on her pillow, pen in hand. Ted comes in, grumbling, "Somebody's been nicking my shampoo again."_

_Jonathan, ever observant, had known Penny had been behind the thefts for weeks, smiled, flipping the pages in his magazine. Ted grumbled some more, "Maybe it was one of the bunk housers, Luz…or maybe Marco, he's got a lot of hair."_

_Penny snickered, "You are an idiot."_

_Glaring at her, as well as her wet hair, something seemed to click, "Wait- you?! You're the shampoo thief?"_

"_Shampoo's expensive. Since you came, I don't have to use the horse stuff anymore."_

"_I don't appreciate you stealing my stuff."_

_Penny shrugged, already going back to her notebook, "Like you don't have the money to buy more."_

"_Why do you bring everything back to the money?" Ted demanded, looking angrier by the second._

" '_Cause when you're poor, it's all that's on your mind." __**I've seen it all/From the orange of the fall to the green of the summer/But my favorite color is neon/The light they always leave on**_

_Annoyed at her nonchalant attitude, he'd strode across the room and ripped the book from her hand, "What is this thing anyways? A diary?"_

_Penny's eyes had hardened, her fighting face descending, "Give that back or I will make you regret the day you were born."_

_Grinning, he'd opened to a page and began to read, _"_**Funny how it's so clear now/I can see the city lights in the rearview/fadin' out of sight/I can see the city lights in the rear view fadin' out of sight/goodbye**__…What is this crap?"_

_Before he'd closed his mouth, her bony fist smacked hard into his nose, squirting blood across the room, "Watch it," she'd hissed, "And try anything like that again, I'll make it hurt a lot more than it does now."_

_He believed her, and considering how much a broken nose hurt, he didn't want to push it. Weeks later, she'd tell him it was her song book and a few weeks after that, she was gone and he was fishing it out of the rubble of the stables. _

Flipping through the pages, scraps; who was he kidding? he read more of the fragments of her songs, hearing her voice in his ears:

_**Ohio was a river bank/A ten-speed laying in the weeds/A cannonball off an old rope swing/Long, long summer days/Tennessee was a guitar/First big dream of mine/If I made it, yeah, that'd be just fine/I just wanted to play/wanted to play**_

_**Love is a rhythm of two heart beating/Talk to me baby, tell me what you're feeling/I know what love is/What's it to you?**_

The most legible of the papers was one of the final ones she'd written, safely tucked at the back of the journal. It hurt him to read it; the words were crushed deeply into the paper, like she couldn't stop them or the emotion that had caused them:

_**Stupid boy...you can't fence that in  
Stupid boy...it's like holdin' back the wind  
She laid her heart and soul right in your hands  
And you stole her every dream and you crushed her plans  
She never even knew she had a choice  
And that's what happens when the only voice she hears is telling her she can't  
Stupid boy**_

**_So what made you think you could take a life_**  
**_And just push it, push it around_**  
**_I guess to build yourself up so high_**  
**_You had to take her and break her down_**

**_Oh you always had to be right_**  
**_And now you've lost the only thing that ever made you feel alive_**

**_She laid her heart and soul right in your hands_**  
**_And you stole her every dream and crushed her plans_**  
**_She never even knew she had a choice_**  
**_And that's what happens when the only voice she hears is telling her she can't_**  
**_You stupid boy_**  
**_Oh, I'm the same old, same old stupid boy_**

**_It took a while for her to figure out she could run but when she did she was long gone_**

_**Long gone**_

He was sure that he was the one that she'd written about, hell, she'd even used a full two pages rather than shoving it all into one. She had been mad alright. He shook his head, enough of that. To hell with the fundraiser, he'd make a private donation sometime. He had to see Penny; he had to know this wasn't just a dream. He was going to tell her everything that he'd been thinking of all these years. Even if she told him she had a new life, a new love, he'd be happy for her. More than anything else in the world, he wanted to see her happy. Sticking the letter on the end table in sight, he headed to the shower with a new air of determination.

* * *

Nervously arranging her freshly curled hair over her scarred shoulder, Penny glanced in the mirror of the borrowed diesel truck idling a block away from the Hart residence. It was exactly three 'til six, and her heart was thudding so hard she was afraid that it was going to burst right out of her chest. She'd been in an emotional state when she'd agreed to dinner with Jonny and his wife, she obviously hadn't been thinking straight.

Otherwise she would have never said yes. She seriously considered turning around for home, packing her gear, and disappearing again. But that would have been stupid, she had a good job and Jon was a _friend_. People don't run away from their _friends. _Besides, the running wasn't a part of who she was anymore.

Shaking herself, she took one last look in the rearview mirror, pushed her hair back into place and took the truck out of drive. Pulling up to the white gate with the embossed 'H,' she rang the house. A heavily accented man answered, saying she could come right up, and she had to swallow the nervousness down again.

Hopping out of the truck, she winced at the odd feeling of soft material brushing up against her calves. The dress, the hair, the makeup; she hardly felt like herself anymore. She was humming one of her own songs to calm her nerves as she headed towards the house, looking in awe at the beautiful house. After she reached the front door and rang the doorbell, she took one final deep breath; she was going to be just fine. Or at least that's what she'd keep telling herself.

* * *

Jonathan opened the door to the transformed Penny Coen. Her soft off-white linen dress wrapped around her torso until it flared out in layers at her waist, reaching to her toned calves. The color made her look even tanner, and the sleeveless top showed off her arms, giving him just a glimpse of the scar that covered her left shoulder. Her long hair was curled in thick waves that were artfully draped over her shoulder and tied with a black ribbon. Her thick glasses made not only her eyes look big, but showed off the light makeup she wore. She stood taller with her black heels, and the only piece of jewelry she wore was a thin gold chain with a delicately braided gold cross hanging on it.

The transformation was amazing, Penny looked beautiful. "What?" she demanded, bringing Jonathan back from his reverie. It reminded him a lot of the first time they met.

He smiled widely, "You look lovely, E. I always thought you'd clean up okay."

She rolled her eyes, pushing past him, "Clean up okay, my a-" she stopped her mouth before she could say anything to insult her hostess, who appeared from the living room.

"Oh, Penny! You do look lovely!" Jennifer said with a genuine smile, increasing Penny's thought that Jonathan had made a very good choice.

"Thanks."

There was a heartbeat of awkwardness, which was dispelled by the arrival of Freeway, followed closely by Max. Scooping up the dog, he grinned apologetically, "Sorry Mr. H, he snuck out when I wasn't lookin'. Dinner should be ready in a few."

"Great, Max," Jonathan replied, leading the group towards the living room.

Casting Penny an appraising, and then an approving glance, Max disappeared back to the kitchen before he could be properly introduced. Not that Penny noticed however, her green eyes were glued to the grand piano in the corner of the room. Drifting over to it as she and the Harts made small talk, her fingers found the keys and began to play.

She really wasn't conscience of the tune she was playing, but Jennifer was. It was a hauntingly beautiful melody, something that she'd never heard before, "That's lovely, who wrote it?"

Penny stopped playing, drawing her hands back sheepishly, "Umm, no one? I was just messing around."

Jonathan laughed, taking a sip of the drink in his hand, "Never could keep your hands off a piano."

Penny shrugged, "I don't know. I guess."

"Remember Madam Bleu?" Jonathan asked with a grin.

Penny groaned, "Crazy old bat!"

Jennifer cut in, "Who's Madam Bleu?"

"She owned this little bar a few miles from the barn. We used to go there on Saturday nights, and Penny would play her rickety old piano for drinks and tips," Jonathan informed her.

"And yes, I was well under legal drinking age," Penny added, "But Madam Bleu thought I was a reincarnation of her at seventeen."

"Seventeen?" Jennifer asked, eyebrows raised.

Declining the drink Jonathan offered her, Penny nodded, "I was very young. The funny thing is I haven't touched alcohol since I turned twenty-one. I think I got it all out of my system that summer."

Before anything else could be said, Max appeared to inform the trio that dinner was served out of the patio. When everyone was seated again, Jonathan posed a question, "So E. What have you been up to in these eleven years?"

From the look in his blue eyes, Jennifer could see an unasked question, but Penny could read it. She cleared her throat nervously, "Here and there. I've visited Mexico, Canada, and forty-eight states."

"Forty-eight, that's impressive," Jennifer replied. But Jonathan wasn't satisfied, "And your parents? Have you been back home?"

Forcing a smile, Penny nodded, "As a matter of fact, I was there in September of '68."

"How are things?"

She shrugged, looking down at her plate, "My mother is still a guest of Uncle Sam…but my father passed away."

Jennifer started to say something sympathetic, but Jonathan cut her off, "What happened?"

"He had an accident when he was drinking. Fell and cracked his skull open."

The heartless tone and the look on Penny's face said there was a lot more to the story then she was sharing. And Jonathan could guess what it was. She'd said she had a promise to keep…and she'd never shared what that promise was…

_Seventeen year old Penny, standing in the decrepit trailer that she'd called home for most of her life, staring at the man who had fathered her. Sitting back his chair, he leered up at her, "Well, well. Look what the cat dragged in."_

"_You are a bastard."_

"_So are you."_

_She'd looked at him for a moment, "Why do you have to ruin everything?"_

_He stood up, "Is that any way to talk to your father?"_

_Penny glanced around, "Is my father in the building?"_

_The slap was hard and unexpected. Stumbling back a step, Penny kept her hand on her cheek as he laughed. He took another step towards her, deftly reaching out and grabbing her arm, "It's time you learned some manners, girl," his slurred voice purred in her ears. _

_The next few seconds were a blur. She'd fought, throwing herself around the trailer but it was not use. He had her pinned against the kitchen cabinet and there was nothing good about the look in his eyes. She'd groped behind her in terror, latching onto a heavy wrench that had been lying there for as long as she could remember. Closing her eyes, she brought it down hard on his skull._

Taking a sip of water, she moved the conversation to better topics. From the look on his face, Jonathan knew exactly what she'd done. He'd always been uncanny at reading people. Just then, Max appeared in the doorway, "Sorry to bother you, but you have another guest." Standing out of the way, a figure appeared in the doorway.

It was a very good thing that Penny was sitting down.

* * *

Before he worked up the nerve to actually enter the Hart home, Ted had taken out the letter from his jacket pocket. It crinkled familiarly; there was a time when he used to read this letter a dozen times a day. The words were forever embossed in his memory, but he read them over again:

_Teddy- _

_I hope you never lose your sense of wonder, get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger. May you never take one single breath for granted…and God forbid love ever leave you empty handed. I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean. I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance, never settle for the path of least resistance. Living might mean taking chances, but they're worth taking, loving might be a mistake, but it's worth making. When you come close to selling out, reconsider. Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens… When you get the choice to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance. _

_You may be hurt and angry right now, you have every right to hate me. But please, _please_, don't give up on the world because of me. Don't let this hell-bent heart leave you bitter. I hope, no I __know,__ you have it in you to dance. And don't waste those dances, tell me who wants to look back on their years and wonder where those years have gone?_

_Give the heavens above more than just a passing glance and promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance. _

_~E_

It was such a goodbye note, the kind of note where the meaning between the lines was painfully clear; she wasn't planning on ever coming back. It had always amazed him how much wisdom she had for a girl who was three full years younger than him.

At the time, he had thought she was arrogant and not particularly smart, but as the years passed, all the words made so much sense. There was so much he had to tell her.

Straightening his collar, he stepped out of his car and with his heart in his throat moved to the Hart's front door. Barely registering his greeting to Max, Ted followed him to the patio where he assumed dinner was being served. Max said something to the Harts, then stepped aside.

Seeing her again was not exactly like he'd pictured it. For one thing, she was all dressed up. Not that he minded she looked beautiful; just not what he had expected. The other thing that bothered him was the look on her face, how it went from shock to fear to something hard to put a name to. Then she was getting up, stepping over the pieces of a shattered glass that had somehow fallen to the floor.

"Thanks for dinner, it was great to see you, but I just remembered something I have to do."

"Wait, E-" Jonathan began, glancing at his wife, who he assumed was the one who had arranged this little meeting.

"Penny, I just wanted to see you."

His voice stopped her, having the effect that she knew it would. Her knees weren't under her own command anymore, 'cause they stopped moving, "Well, now you've seen me, Teddy. Gotta go."

Ted reached out and grasped her arm, "Can we talk?"

"We'll be right back," Jennifer cut in, dragging Jonathan and Max back inside of the house with her. Jonathan was asking her _why _she had invited Ted, she knew how the two of them had left it! and Max was curiously gapping. The answer to her husband's question was a simple one, she couldn't stand to see two people who obviously had feelings for each other hide for the rest of their lives, they needed to talk. And of course, a little match making was always fun.

Back out on the patio, Penny was weighing the pros and cons of making a run for it while Ted tried to get his thoughts in order.

"E," he began, looking straight into her green eyes, "Penny…I don't even know where to begin."

"Why don't you _not _begin then? Might be easier for all of us."

She was hiding behind her wall, keeping her emotions carefully concealed. He reached out to touch her, but she jumped back, brushing the hair away from her scarred shoulder. It was gnarled and web-like, an off white color that stood out form her tanned skin. When she caught him staring, she quickly covered it back up, turning for the door. "Penny, please, just let me say what I need to, then you can walk away and never look back. _Please."_

Letting out a sigh, she nodded but her back still to him. He took his own shuttering breath, "To start off, I love you. Always have, probably always will. I spent years trying to track you down after you left, and I never ever gave up. I- I read the letter you gave Jon, you loved me too. I could never understand why you had to hide it, and I understand that '68 was a lifetime ago, and you've probably got someone new-"

"I hid it because you were just a rebel trust fund baby who 'loved' me because it would piss off mommy and daddy," Penny muttered harshly, "and no, there's nobody else."

"No," Ted said, stepping closer, "It was never like that. I loved you because of all the things that you were. Smart, gorgeous, funny, talented, tell me what's not to love?"

"Ha!" was the only reply.

"I sick missing you. Tell me what I have to do to win you over, Penny. What do I need to say to make you believe me? You'll never have to wonder if you need another, you'll never have to wonder if I understand, and I'll always have a hand stretched out for you. I'd do anything for you, _anything."_

"I wonder if you say that if you knew half the things I've done."

"I would," came the prompt reply.

It was all coming so fast, all the emotions, her life flashing before her eyes. Then suddenly, he was there. His arms wrapped around her like they had all those years ago. She hated to admit it, but the years had been very good to him, and her heart sped up when he looked at her when he was this close. "Do you still love me? I'll understand if you don't."

_The fireworks going off in the summer night sky, Ted and Penny racing hand and hand back to the truck where Jonathan sat on the hood. They stopped a few feet away and shared one last breathless kiss, "I love you," he'd whispered then, a devilish grin on his face. She'd giggled, then raced away from him without returning his sentiments. He'd raced after. That seemed to be their relationship, she ran and he always followed._

"There's nothing I'd change about those days, you and Jon are the sweetest things about my past. There's a part of me that always hoped you'd found your dreams and you were happy wherever you were at…but there was a part of me that wanted, wants, that summer back."

It was all of the yes he needed for now, he drew her in and gently kissed her lips, like he'd done that summer all those years ago. They both knew it was going to take things slow, that this might not last forever, but there was a part of them that hoped it would.

Inside the kitchen, Max, Freeway, Jennifer and Jonathan peeked out the kitchen window to see what was going on. The scene before them brought a smile, and Jonathan wrapped his arms around his wife wordlessly. Penny's song danced through his head and he smiled, watching the sound of a million dreams unfold before him.

_So I labor for hours 'cause I know the power of a song when a song hits you right_

_Pouring my soul into stories of life hoping someone will hear one tonight_

_Maybe my voice will cut through the noise and stir up an old memory _

_And out of these piano keys comes the sound, _

_The sound of a million dreams_

* * *

**I don't really like how this story ended up folks…I think I kind of lost my steam. I hope I didn't disappoint anyone too seriously. As you may have guessed/known, the songs were NOT mine, here's the list of songs that lyrics inspired me (yes, a long list, I KNOW) (In NO particular order):**

Texas Was You- Jason Aldean

Crying On A Suitcase- Casey James

City Lights- Matt Gray

Neon- Chris Young

What's It To You- Clay Walker

Stupid Boy- Keith Urban

The Sound Of A Million Dreams- David Nail **(Title Inspiration)**

I Hope You Dance- Lee Ann Womack

Never Alone- Jim Brickman/Lady Antebellum

Your Everything- Keith Urban

My Wish- Rascal Flatts

Hurry Home- Jason Michael Carroll

Let There Be Cowgirls- Chris Cagle

Over- Blake Shelton

Summer Back- Andy Gibson

**Thanks again to any one reading this, I think you're all amazing!**

**~Over and Out. **

**Striker**


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